Turkish gov't mandates citizens to submit ID cards while buying, selling foreign currency
The Turkish Treasury and Finance Ministry has mandated the foreign exchange bureaus in the country to record the Turkish identity card or passport numbers of their clients. The move comes as citizens have been buying foreign currencies in the face of a weakening currency and increasing inflation figures.
Duvar English
The Treasury and Finance Ministry made a change in the regulations concerning the buying and selling of foreign currencies. Accordingly, currency exchange bureaus will be as of now required to record the Turkish identity card or passport numbers of their clients.
The money changers will also make a record of the relevant transaction, its date/hour and amount.
The recent move comes as citizens have been buying foreign currencies in the face of a weakening currency and increasing inflation figures.
Turkey's lira continued to weaken this week, as it hit above 9.00 for the first time against the dollar.
The slump accelerated after the central bank, known as CBRT, delivered a surprise cut of 100 basis points on Sept. 23, a move that stoked concerns about inflation and enabled fixed-income investors to earn higher returns abroad.
The markets have also been concerned about heightened regional tensions, with the latest drop coming as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a thinly veiled warning of a possible military offensive into neighboring Syria.
Erdoğan said in Ankara on Oct. 11 that Turkey is determined to eliminate threats emanating from Syria “either through forces that are active there, or by our own means.”